When asking someone what brand of motorcycle he chooses to ride, which of the following two sentences is correct?
What is your ride of choice?
What is your choice of ride?
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In the context you describe, the two are probably equivalent.– brasshatCommented Jan 2, 2015 at 6:41
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@brasshat No, they do not, though ultimately it may not make much difference.– KrisCommented Jan 2, 2015 at 7:59
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I"m not a biker myself, which limits my exposure, however among those bikers I know, the two phrases asked about are used pretty much interchangeably, and with about the same frequency.– brasshatCommented Jan 2, 2015 at 14:52
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2 Answers
"choice of X" is the type of X you've decided upon, whether generally or in the face of an immediate choice being given.
"X of choice" is an idiom for one's preferred X, generally ignoring for the sake of discussion considerations which might lean one against that preferred option in some cases.
While a biker's choice of ride might not be their ride of choice if perhaps their ride of choice was more expensive than they could afford, and their choice of ride for a particular event might not be their ride of choice if it didn't suit that event, in practice the two expressions are pretty likely to amount to the same thing in this particular context.
answered Jan 2, 2015 at 16:31
Echoing Joe's answer above, I'd go with choice of ride.
Ride of choice might be too broad and allow for options not currently available.
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But as a general question about what bikes they like the best, "ride of choice" is preferable for exactly the opposite reason; "choice of ride" might be too narrow in only allowing for options currently available. Commented Jan 3, 2015 at 12:39